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[[file:Typography Line Terms.svg|thumb|upright 2.0|alt=A diagram showing the line terms used in typography]]
In [[typography]], the '''x-height,''' or '''corpus size,''' is the distance between the [[baseline (typography)|baseline]] and the [[mean line]] of
[[File:Regular and caption fonts.png|thumb|Regular and caption styles of two
[[File:Original-CG.gif|thumb|French renaissance typefaces, 1592. The smaller typeface at the bottom has a proportionally higher x-height.{{efn|The name "Petit Canon de [[Claude Garamond|Garamond]] is a mistake; it is actually by [[Robert Granjon]].<ref>Vervliet 2008, p. 220; Type Specimen Facsimiles, p. 3</ref>}}]]
[[Display typeface]]s intended to be used at large sizes, such as on signs and posters, vary in x-height. Many have high x-heights to be read clearly from a distance. This, though, is not
[[File:Thank You (13824254433).jpg|thumb|Extra-small x-height in
==Design considerations==
Medium x-heights are found on fonts intended for body text, allowing more balance and contrast between upper- and
[[File:General x-height sample image.png|thumb|
High x-heights on display typefaces were particularly common in designs in the 1960s and '70s, when [[International Typeface Corporation]] released popular variations of older designs with boosted x-heights; notable examples of this trend include [[Avant Garde Gothic]] and [[ITC Garamond]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Simonson|first1=Mark|author-link=Mark Simonson|title=Indiana Jones and the Fonts on the Maps|url=http://www.marksimonson.com/notebook/view/indiana-jones-and-the-fonts-on-the-maps|access-date=6 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Bierut|first1=Michael|title=I Hate ITC Garamond|url=http://designobserver.com/article.php?id=2577|website=Design Observer|access-date=6 November 2014}}</ref> More recently, some typefaces such as [[Mrs Eaves]], [[Neutraface]] and [[Brandon Grotesque]] have been issued with distinctively low x-heights to try to create a more elegant appearance. While computers allow fonts to be printed at any size, professional font designers such as Adobe issue fonts in a range of
Some research has suggested that while higher x-heights may help with reading smaller text, a very high x-height may be counterproductive, possibly because it becomes harder to identify the shape of a word if every letter is nearly the same height. For the same reason, some sign manuals discourage all-capitals text.<ref name=USSC>{{cite web|last1=Bertucci|first1=Andrew|title=Sign Legibility Rules of Thumb|url=http://www.usscfoundation.org/USSCSignLegiRulesThumb.pdf|publisher=United States Sign Council|access-date=22 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Herrman|first1=Ralph|title=Does a large x-height make fonts more legible?|date=9 April 2012 |url=http://typography.guru/journal/does-a-large-x-height-make-fonts-more-legible-r16/|access-date=22 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Hermann|first1=Ralph|title=Designing the ultimate wayfinding typeface|date=September 2009 |url=http://typography.guru/journal/designing-the-ultimate-wayfinding-typeface-r30/|access-date=22 June 2015}}</ref>
==Use in web design==
In [[computing]] one use of x-height is as a unit of measurement in [[web page]]s. In [[Cascading Style Sheets|CSS]] and [[LaTeX]] the x-height is called an
==Other important dimensions==
==See also==
*[[En (typography)]]
*[[Small caps]]
* [[
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060614090249/http://typophile.com/wiki/X-height Definition of x-height at typophile.com]
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